SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—More than 500 workers here and volunteers from neighboring communities joined hands on Thursday to plant some 7,000 tree saplings in what was hailed as the first-ever celebration of Arbor Day in this free port.
Forester Patrick Escusa, head of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Ecology Center’s Social Development Division, which coordinated the event, said SBMA employees, workers from companies in the free port and volunteers from various civic organizations in Olongapo City planted different tree species at a 6.3-hectare reforestation site in Mount Santa Rita, as well as other planting areas here.
The participating groups included the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office of Olongapo City; the Coast Guard Auxiliary 111th Squadron based in Hermosa, Bataan; the Department of Public Works and Highways; the National Police offices in Olongapo and Hermosa; and the Zambales chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
It was the first tree-planting activity here that was purposely held during the Arbor Day, a holiday observed throughout the Philippines on June 25 under Proclamation 396 issued on June 2, 2003, by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Proclamation 396 enjoined the “active participation of all government agencies, including government-owned and -controlled corporations, private sector, schools, civil- society groups and the citizenry in tree-planting activity.”
SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said the project is part of the agency’s environmental preservation and conservation-advocacy program under Republic Act 10716, which revived the observance of Arbor Day in 2012 and authorized government units to observe the annual event with tree-planting activities.
The same law requires all able-bodied citizens, who are at least 12 years of age, to plant at least one tree every year.
“What we’re doing here is taking care of the environment; yet we are also ensuring the sustainability of our future with this activity,” Garcia said. “With the help of stakeholders in the free port, the SBMA is committed more than ever to continue with this project and pave a brighter, greener tomorrow for Subic.”
The Arbor Day celebration activity here kicked off with a simple program in front of the SBMA administration building, and then proceeded with an 80-vehicle convoy to the reforestation site in Mount Santa Rita.
Other groups from Olongapo City remained at the central business district where they planted saplings of narra and other shade trees.
Meanwhile, dozens of employees and senior officials of Hitachi Terminals Mechatronics Philippines (HTMP), a Japanese company, which manufactures automatic teller machine parts, planted 150 mangrove wildlings at the mangrove sanctuary.
Catherine Dizon, HTMP assistant manager for administration, said that the activity is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility program that also aims to promote awareness on environment preservation among the company’s workers.
“While it is harder to plant mangrove than tree saplings, this is a new experience for all of us and our Japanese bosses enjoyed doing this,” Dizon added.
The mangrove-planting activity was led by Hitoshi Ito, HTMP general manager for production; Hiroto Konoke, general manager for administration; Kenji Hattori, department manager for purchasing; and Tokunobu Asami, deputy department manager for engineering.